Mathew Brady carte-de-visite of Josh Billings

Mathew Brady carte-de-visite of Josh Billings

Dates: Date of production not identified

This collection consists of two items; an albumen carte-de-visite photograph of Josh Billings and a card bearing the autograph of Josh Billings along with the phrase "Go Slow!" The date of the photograph is unknown but was probably taken in the 1870s.

It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from Mathew Brady carte-de-visite of Josh Billings must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.

This photograph was found between the pages of a book titled: Josh Billings on ice, and other things. The book was from the Joseph E. Arrington collection. The book, because of its condition was not retained.

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2015-04-15 10:19:14 -0600.

Finding Aid Language

English

Biographical Info:

Biographical History

Mathew Brady (1822-1896) was a well-known 19th century American portrait photographer and documenter of the American Civil War.

Early in the 1940s Mathew Brady learned the art of making daguerreotypes from Samuel Morse who brought knowledge of the photographic process to America from France in 1839. In 1844 Brady opened a studio in New York but moved to Washington D.C. in 1849. He is best known for his many portraits of notable individuals including Abraham Lincoln and his photographs documenting the American Civil War in which he and his employees created over 10,000 glass plate negatives. Brady financed the Civil War project himself with the anticipation the U.S. Government would want to purchase his negatives. He became bankrupt when Congress was willing to pay him only a forth of what it cost to produce the images. Brady died broke on January 15, 1896 following an accident with a streetcar. He is buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.